How To Become An Adult Educator: What It Is and Career Path

What is an adult educator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Bailey McAlister PhD

The average adult educator salary is $49,952. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an elementary education major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an adult educator. Adult educators with a Microsoft Certified Educator (MCE) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -6% and produce -2,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an Adult Educator?

Bailey McAlister PhD

Lecturer, Georgia College and State University

Maximizing salary potential is a valuable point that I unfortunately don't have much positive experience in as a college teacher. I always ask for salary increase whenever I can. When I start a job, when I've been at a job a year, when I get another job offer, etc. It doesn't hurt to ask. I guess I'd advise new graduates to note quantities of money, sales, funding, etc. on their resumes. Showing in numbers how much you've grown is important.

ScoreAdult EducatorUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,952

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.8

Growth Rate -6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

8.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.53%

Asian 5.28%

Black or African American 11.63%

Hispanic or Latino 15.30%

Unknown 5.71%

White 61.56%

Gender

female 66.72%

male 33.28%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

6.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.0

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.9

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

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Key steps to become an adult educator

Explore adult educator education requirements

Most common adult educator degrees

Bachelor's

56.0 %

Master's

24.9 %

Associate

11.5 %

Start to develop specific adult educator skills

Skills	Percentages
ESL	19.59%
Math	16.33%
Language Arts	9.69%
Test Scores	9.44%
Curriculum Development	7.09%

Complete relevant adult educator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New adult educators learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an adult educator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real adult educator resumes.

Research adult educator duties and responsibilities

Manage revolving caseload of students with IEP team including initials, transfer placements, manifestation determinations.
Plan and implement lessons for adult learners of various levels in the subjects of math, writing, and social studies.
Design and implement an objective-driven syllabus and assignments that transform the skills and disposition of student development.
Tutor students one on one in mathematics, English, grammar, reading and writing.

Prepare your adult educator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your adult educator resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an adult educator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Adult Educator Resume templates

Build a professional Adult Educator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Adult Educator resume.

Apply for adult educator jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an adult educator job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams